have alot of weight to lose

Hey Stephanie

Thanks for all of your supportive comments. I love to write and I think this board will be a wonderful incentive for me. As I think I said earlier, I don't have an exercise/support group in the area so it is hard to stay motivated. What I do have is a lot of beautiful country and hills to climb and I will shortly be moving into the little town down the mountain and can have a larger room to set up my weight bench...am just feeling very good about it all once again.

I also belong to the simple living network boards...they have some pretty good discussions at times on staying centered and getting focused on the really important things in life...so between the two of these I should do OK.

There is also a book they sell called Voluntary Simplicity and a good chapter on conscious awareness...something you were actually talking about earlier...really being mindful of our actions and how they affect the world we live in as well as our own attitudes.

I had a very simple exercise I was doing this moring after my workout...drinking some very cold water...and instead of just doing it by rote I consciously thought of it from the moment it entered my mouth, down the old esophagus and into the tummy...and then I thought of all the crap I put in my mouth too and don't even think about...

But, this idea can carry over into all walks of our lives including relationships, exercise, etc.

Send me your thoughts...and thanks again.

Kathleen
 
Hi Bobbi

Thanks for all of the suggestions on tape. I haven't seen any of them yet but just order the MIS and am anxious to get started on it. I think it it will be much more motivating for me personally working with a tape rather than alone. I have to read the eating challenge forum again and see what that is all about. Just the little I did yesterday made me feel good...resisting the desserts and sugar.

Take care.

Kathleen
 
Hi, Kathleen,

I have also been trying to be more mindful of my eating. I usually wolf my food down really quickly and without much thought. But lately I have been eating mindfully, respectfully, and chewing slowly. Food is life and it should be enjoyed. You sound very in balance and I think that is so important to being truly happy:)

There's a sight you might like: (http://www.beliefnet.com).

You'll find lots of support here and you can give lots too! We're all in the same boat, aren't we;-).

Bobbi
 
Hi Bobbi

Yes, we are all in the same boat...trying to row together. Thanks for the new site, also...I always enjoy new thoughts coming my way...and they keep me encouraged. I picked up a Denise Austin tape today just until Cathy's MIS arrives. I haven't viewed it yet but will probably plug it in tomorrow and give it a try.

We are just having delightful weather here in the foothills of the Catskills...cool and sunny...and it gets me energized again to be active.

Thanks so much for your encouragement Bobbi...it means a lot to me...and hopefully we will get to know each other better.

Take care.

Kathleen
 
I don't know the proximity, but I spent every summer of my childhood in Hammondsport, on Lake Kueka.
Beautiful state...I miss it.
My husband went to school in Hamilton & hung out in Cazenovia (sp?) He loved it up there too!
Ruth :)
 
Hi Bobbi

I had a chance to look at the site you recommended...just reading the comments to the article by Jerry Falwell...don't know where you lie on the subject matter, but I enjoyed the comeback from some of the participants. I have a very difficult time expressing myself verbally...so when confronted with "situations" like this...as my former x used to do quite often...I had trouble defending myself...he was probably very much in the Falwell camp...hard to believe I survived for two years!

Body and mind...they are all so interconnected, aren't they? And such a downward or upward spiral depending on where you are at in your life. That is why it is so important to seek out support groups and motivators and being conscious of all of our decisions. And, it certainly is not an easy task at times as all of you well know.

Well, I am off...take care.

Kathleen
 
Hi Cruncholi...by the way, I love that name!!!

I am in Deposit, not too far from Harpursville. Am in the process of moving from the top of the mountain into town in the next month.

Are you a weight-lifter?

Kathleen
 
Hi Ruth

Upstate New York is beautiful...I was born and raised in Michigan and thought you couldn't beat the UP for beauty...but it is very pretty here. A little more populated than upper Michigan but I think that is the east. I have been here about two years now and am beginning to feel like it is home.
 
Kathleen,

The thing I like about (http://www.belifnet.com) is that it reflects so many different religions. I am not a Falwell fan. I find dogmatism very unappealing. I am a Christian. I have been studying Eastern religions of late though. I am trying to learn to meditiate.

I envy you right now, living in upstate NY. I am here in hot old Tucson. I love the desert. It is starkly beautiful but, man oh man, it's hot!

I used to love to get up really early to run but these days I feel unmotiviated to do so. I will be so happy when I get the new workouts in just a few weeks now. Cathe on DVD is awesome! Do you like MIS?

Bobbi
 
Kathleen

Your are doing so many things to strengthen your mind and body yes it is all coneected. Yes you are a writer I tried to imagine the area you described--beautiful. I think too many of us have taken for granted that we put others ahead of ourselves. The depression, anger, sometimes rage is the end result of that. As I try to clean up my act and am going through several situations where I have to reset or set boundaries. We start to feel guilty when we take care of ourselves getting into the old habit of putting the other person's feelings into play we can't. Because then once again we end up losing sight of ourselves.And then the resentments etc set in and we end up turning it on ourselves. I think the thing to remember is that if your actions are straight up you don't have to worry so much about the other person don't blow them into oblivion but let them know that you have to come first in your own life or you will be of no good to anyone else. Like now my friend sees that for several months I have been working out she knows how busy my schedule is nothing comes before me working out nothing. She and everyone else will have to deal with that. And they do. You can't expect others to take you seriously until you take yourself seriously.
 
Hi Bobbi

I haven't gotten the tape yet...had to check on my order again and I must have entered something wrong...but have confirmation so hope to get it soon. I enjoy weightlifting very much and rather serendipitously many years ago discoverd that it helped me to lose weight rather dramatically. I was working at General Motors in Lansing on the auditing/accounting staff. As part of my job I had to take the metal VIN plates to the plant every day...they weighed about ten pounds per block and I took about twenty blocks out...my biceps got hugs and the weight just melted off. I didn't really make the connection at the time between the job and my weight loss but later...after I became interested in weight-lifting, I remembered that period in my life. I am 5'10" and have never been small per se but have some nice length of bone...and I am at the age now...and been through enough turmoil the past few years to realize that I can be whomever I want to be physically...and if that person is a big strong lady...more power to me! So, once I get moved into my new old house next month I will be concentrating on weights and probably ordering more tapes for variety.

I also liked the site you sent, Bobbi, because it did explore other religions. Like you I am a Christian, raised Irish Catholic, but I feel I can learn so much from the Eastern religions also...just being centered and open...I have never seriously studied them but pick up things here and there which I like. I don't really feel it incongruous to learn from all religions and beliefs. About three years ago I started reading some of Joseph Campbells works and it opened my mind a lot. I had considered myself an open-minded person but really have a long way to go somedays...more to do with ignorance than not.

It is a beautiful evening here in the Catskills...cool and sunny...the mountains are lovely. I have never been out west but several artist friends of mind travel there often and I am sure it is equally beautiful in its own way. I am just not a hot weather person.

Well, take care and I will let you know how the tapes work out once I receive them.

Kathleen
 
Hi Kathleen,
I really enjoyed reading your letter above...I truly envy you living where you do.
To make it even more ironic, I lived for 1 year in Lansing, Michigan. I believe my stepmother still lives there.
Unfortunately I was a teenager & much too young & stupid to appreciate the area. All I wanted was to go home to my boyfriend & other friends!
I lived in a lot of different places when I was young, & now is when I would appreciate it!
Ruth :)
 
Hi, Kathleen (and you too, Ruth!),

I love Joseph Campbell. His was one of the most intelligent minds I've ever encountered. Reading his work opened my mind a great deal. I have never been to upstate New York. I grew up in Michigan; first Kalamazoo and then, New Buffalo, in SW Michigan, on the lake. We are in our monsoon season here in Tucson. It's muggy and hot and rather dramatic at times. I love it when it rains. All to often it does NOT rain. We had a wonderful storm yesterday. The desert is about as lush as it gets now. I like the desert. I miss large trees, though, and shaded lanes. Every summer I go home to see my mother and I get my shade fix:). We are surrouned by mountains here so it is possible to get to cooler elevations and out of the intense heat. It seems like we never do though, unless someone is visiting. I'll have to take my kids for a picnic on Mt. Lemmon before school resumes.
 
I am sorry...I missed this post...I get confused on these sites sometimes...which is quite easy for me to do...get confused, I mean...duh!!!

Anyway, I wanted to respond to some of your thoughts...because they tied in with something that happened today.

I had to see my x-boyfriend tonight. We had been together for two years but my daughter moved out east and I had to make a home for her...she was in quite a desparate situation. My friend just couldn't understand that she needed to come first right now. He had been through a lengthy divorce, three years, and I was very supportive, or so I thought. He met another woman about four weeks ago and is now engaged to be married...so, life has its surprises, doesn't it?

But, back to what you were saying...putting ourselves first...I wasn't...I was trying to please everyone but myself and it was taking its toll on my physically and emotionally.

Tonight I saw my friend...and I just let all of the anger flow out of me...and wished him well...and tried to be happy for him...and myself. Between my thirty year marriage and this relationship I am about exhausted...and I think now that I truly will concentrate on ME...selfish, I know...but necessary.

I have to say I miss a relationship with a man...but it will be good for me to be on my own for awhile. I haven't ever been actually single, went from my dad's home to marriage to boyfriend. Well, life is an adventure, isn't it?

I am looking forward to getting in good physical condition again though...and I think that will have first priority.

I ran the two miles today instead of walking...so that is just great for me...never considered myself a runner at all but for some reason I am very determined.
 
I actually "grew up" in Lansing, Ruth...my parents were there for ten years while my dad was with the DNR, but they returned to the UP after I graduated. I went back to the area to go to MSU, married, and lived in the area for about thirty years although I spent as much time in the UP as I could. The area has grown so much though that it isn't as beautiful as it used to be...just very busy. It is one reason I like this area of New York. The downside, of course, is that there isn't much employment. I make 1/2 of what I made at GM over twenty years ago...but simple living helps. Where there is a will there is a way.

Well, kids...I am off to bed.

So nice having all of your input, I really very much appreciate it.

Kathleen
 
I find it pretty interesting, girls, that so many of you are from or familiar with areas in Michigan that I spent a lot of time at. It truly is a small world.

When my daughter moved to New York from Michigan last October I got her involved with a small theatrical group in Deposit. One of the first people she ran into were the technicians that she had worked with in Kalamazoo at the State Theatre. Now that was weird!!!!

I probably expound on this way too much, but I am always amazed at the interconnectedness of life and events.

Kathleen
 
Hi Kathleen,
I lift weights at home--mostly free weights and tubing. I'm not really fond of going to the gym because of the time it takes and waiting for the machines, etc.

I just officially moved to Harupursville from Albany last weekend after 3 years of law school. Do you go to a local gym, or workout at home?

Have a nice one!
Cruncholi

By the way, sorry for the delayed response--I was on vacation camping!
 

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